Trion’s Scott Hartsman Reveals Details About ArcheAge Western Release

In a recent interview with MMORPG.com, Trion Worlds CEO Scott Hartsman said Trion is doing “everything in our power” to make ArcheAge live in the west.

Hartsman said there is a lot of tech work involved in bringing the game to the west, including: making the game support three languages so it can ship in the U.S. and EU; integrating account, patching, billing, and other systems; and implementing the game’s customization systems for a western audience. But the pace of that work has “accelerated drastically” in recent months.

Questions about the game’s monetization strategy in the west have also been on player’s minds. Hartsman said Trion is working with original developer XL Games to create a strategy that fits with Trion’s philosophy, and used mounts and gliders as an example.

“Currently, the best ones in the game in some regions are exclusively purchaseable from the store. That may be ideal for the other markets, but doesn’t fit the western ‘No tricks, no traps’ F2P vision and sensibility. What we do with mounts and gliders is to make sure that you get some solid enjoyment when you purchase one, but you’re still earning the best,” Hartsman said.

Hartsman also addressed the recent 1.0 update in Korea, which some players feel limited the “sandbox” feeling that made ArcheAge attractive in the first place. Hartsman said keeping that feeling would remain a priority and that “XL has been extremely supportive of our requests when it comes to ensuring ArcheAge is genuinely the premiere, AAA sandbox in the west. We’ll be getting into more of those details as the game gets through its alpha and beta.”